1,432,649
I am not a super techie. But the very modestly priced and not very fancy SLR I use takes very high res photos. Too high to upload. However, the only editing I generally do is crop the photos to focus on what I really want in the picture. I use the snippet tool and use those photos that are lower res but work for the upload.
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Gene Riemenschneider
Brentwood, CA
3,988,007
Thank Jeanne for your experience.
Nancy, Part of the fun of real estate for me is the photography. So after lessons and investing in good equipment and more it is feeding theat need.
David, I am nowhere near where you are or have the time to do all the photoshopping. But I do appreciate it and know the value of good photos. You make it sound so easy and it is for you because you know it.
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Dana Basiliere
Williston, VT
42,801
Debbie in addition to being a realtor®, I have been a professional photographer for years with architectural photography a speciality of mine. I photograph totally in RAW, and then in Lightroom I choose the images I want to use follow by initial color and density corrections particularly toning down highlights and bringing up shadows. I will export everything as 8"x12" @300 ppi or larger in jpeg. Then in Photoshop make additional corrections like lightening the shadows if needed and taking down highlights, remove electrical cords, removing wrinkles in pillows or on beds and other items that distract. My final output for MLS and social media is 900 pixels by 600 pixels at 300 ppi.
Good photography makes a hugh difference in presentation. I still can't believe how many photographs are shown in MLS by cell phones or by photographers who don't know how to light or drag the shutter for longer exposures to fill in darker areas of the rooms.
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Dana Basiliere
Williston, VT
3,988,007
I love photography and the challenge of getting the good shots. It is almost a passion. Bruce, I have invested in a 10-20MM lens and it does a great job and long as the lens is not over extended. I have hired photography before but is not cost effective for $100,000 listings.
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Patrick Willard
Rio Rancho, NM
443,220
I use professional photaghers for all my listings - they do editing before I even see them. Best money I ever spend in real estate.
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Jeanne Dufort
Madison, GA
6,380,446
4,800,082
I do pretty big shots and reduce the size after editing for publication.
3,071,489
675,149
A little late to this party Debbie Reynolds ... I almost always edit my photos before I use them online. Resize, crop, color correction etc. are most common and my usual go to app is ipiccy.com... I rarely upload photos to AR. You got good Google Juice. I was thinking today about a new photo for my profile page and Googled it... You and Craig Daniels popped right up! :O)
13,588
I almost always use a pro. Time is money and as long as someone can do something better than I can I hire out. Less strees too. For you who are passionate photography good for you!
1,256,920
I have elected not to take my own photos. I use a photographer that takes amazing shots for $99. They are high res and he'll do twilight shots for the Schmansy homes as well. I text him the address and we figure a time and BAM, it's done! Paypay and done. Since our "town" is over 400 square miles, it pays dividends to have him at the ready!
387,189
Wow, I see so many of you using professional photographers and a reasonable prices. I weigh in with Debbie; it is a passion and I have the the equipment. I use a Canon EF-S 10-22 MM for those tight rooms and I have an EF-S 18-135 mm for my go to lens. I use a remote flash for lighting the end of long rooms or dark corners. The HDR multiple expose mode takes care of shadows but I recommend a tripod for that. then the fun begins selecting the best 36 photos and cleaning them up in PP. Oh, and I shoot full res and reduce for MLS.
599,124
High-res pictures are necessary. My MLS downsizes them, but I keep the higher resolution photos for showing in my office or emailing.
Professional photos are great, but not practical in every market or for every listing. In my market we have to hire someone from out of town. They usually come up for a day, shoot many houses, and then email us everything. Time consuming and expensive! The other factor is that I am competing against a lot of people that take terrible pictures or very few pictures.
I enjoy photography and prefer to learn how to take my own shots. I have a decent camera with a 10-22mm lens that gives me good shots of even tiny rooms. I pay attention to lighting and - more importantly - getting the right angles. I also make sure the toilet seats are down, clutter is out of sight, and my reflection is not in the mirror/window/door/microwave, etc. It doesn't take much to outshine the competition if you put a little effort into learning.
21,891
My photographer gives me great photos, and a virtual tour all for only $85. I hire a professional just like my clients.
236,403
For standard sale, mid range and high end properties, I also use a professional.
However, for my short sales and lower priced properties, I use the highest resolution and then use good photo editing software.
369,690
I will also say that I am onsite for most photo shoots - because my direction matters - I am also trained in photography, and I know the images that matter most for each property.
369,690
I use a pro - her investment in equipment (camera, lenses, lighting, tripods, etc) and software, plus the experience to use it to get incredible photos, makes it an easy decision no matter how expensive or inexpensive the property. In fact, I use her for land, also. She has a price package for basic homes, and one for larger homes. She also shoots in RAW, because the processing creates truer colors.
80,193
Shoot in high resolution, but my MLS drops them to 1920x1080 - and displays even lower resolution. I often go into the big sites and repost higher resolution photos so they display better.
153,167
145,595
We use high resolution and view them before posting. We will edit if it makes sense, sometimes it makes sense to reshoot. It may take some time, but Debbie is right, on lower priced listings professional photographers are not cost effective.
90,523
While I can take a good photo and do my own editing, I hire a pro. She has a wide angle lens that I wouldn't personally put that kind of money into and the results are super, her lighting is always perfect regardless of the conditions she is shooting in and no matter how well I think the property is prepared for the photo shoot she always spots something that needs fixed, straightened, removed or even staged a bit differently. Very reasonable and worth every penny. Poor photos are a big pet peeve of mine. Why an owner of a home would tolerate poor photos from an agent is beyond me. With free or nearly free simple to use software out there that can greatly improve a poor photo in a couple minutes there really is no excuse. Furthermore why would a broker/owner allow poor photos with their brokerage name on them to be placed in the MLS or any marketing materials to reflect poorly on their brand?
3,948,660
Good morning Debbie. Yes I edit before I post and then never exceed 650.
26,418
I learned long ago that a professional does a much better job than I could ever do AND look at all the time I save not trying to fix my work in programs I don't really know how to use.
293,277
969,548
Debbie, I agree if I was and use to take my own photos I would use the largest frame as possible. I now totally use a professional photographer. The results and comments at closing have been amazing.
34,318
For time and efficieny, it's best to use a professional for pictures. Thats what i do. There are places to cut costs, great photos is not one of them.
4,319,419
Debbie Reynolds I work with a professional photographer. However, I get some Panorama from him which I stitch using software I have.
3,988,007
5,862,877
I shoot in the highest resolution, but I order professional photos for my listings.
130,752
3,988,007
I use the highest possible too. I only get into trouble when my card is getting full and I want to take many extras. You never kow what you might need and when.
4,434,127
5,772,470
We recommend high resolution photos and 960 pixels, this is for the web.
3,986,252
I shoot my photo's at the highest resolution possible.
Our Mls automatically resizes them to fit
1,771,867
I use the highest possible setting on my camera and then I can crop and manipulate the image and them save for web in Adobe Photo Shop.
3,988,007
Thanks Larry Johnston for sharing. I take most of mine larger than that and save them in case I want to use a portion for something else.
1,683,912